Theta Theta Hosts SEDC 2019

by Atia Aroonsakulwongse Theta Theta - ΚΚΨ University of Alabama at Birmingham Theta Theta Hosts SEDC 2019

If you were to tell me that Theta Theta would be hosting SEDC 2019 two years ago, I would have laughed and never believed you. Prior to hosting SEDC, we were never really involved in the district level. We attended district events and had some contact with other chapters in our district. Other than that, that’s all we did. At SEDC 2018 in Charleston, SC, Birmingham, AL was selected as the host site for SEDC 2019, the Brothers of Theta Theta that attended SEDC with me looked at each other in shock. We were extremely timid to host this convention. We avoided having this conversation until the following school year.

As president, one of my goals was to encourage the chapter to participate in more district activities. We started the school year participating in district programs and began reaching out to more chapters around our state. When the SEDC host chapter applications were released, we sat down in a classroom

and talked about it. We wanted to do it because our university was really close to the convention site. However, the biggest concern we had was that we might not have enough Brothers and Sisters to help. Then we thought about our membership candidate class from both organizations and that thought helped ease that concern. After serious consideration, the chapter decided to vote on submitting an application to host SEDC. I talked to our Tau Beta Sigma chapter (Eta Lambda) and they agreed to submit an application as well.

I was taking an exam when an email was sent to me that the Theta Theta Chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi and the Eta Lambda Chapter of Tau Beta Sigma were selected as host chapters for SEDC 2019. We were all excited and a little scared, but mostly excited.

If anyone tells you that hosting a convention where roughly 700 Brothers and Sisters will be attending is easy, don’t believe them. Hosting this convention was no walk in the park, but it wasn’t as bad as our chapter anticipated. There were days where we were stressed out of our minds, but it was completing those stressful tasks that bought our chapter closer to each other. The time spent we spend together preparing for the convention bought the Brothers of our chapter closer to each other. The conflicts we had were resolved quickly because how efficiently the Brothers and Sisters worked. The event strengthened our bond with our TBS chapter as well, which has been something both chapters have been working on for years.

This experience has taught Theta Theta many lessons. Some of the lessons include to stay organized, always plan ahead, communication is key and that anything is possible with a little hard work and passion. Hosting SEDC 2019 was a rewarding experience for everyone. In the past, we would have to explain where we are from. Now, everyone in the Southeast District of Kappa Kappa Psi knows Theta Theta and Eta Lambda, and that’s what makes hosting SEDC worth every second.

Aaron Moore National Alumni Historical and Development Coordinator Alpha Rho - ΚΚΨ, Northeastern State University Clinton Wieden Southwest District Governor Alpha - ΚΚΨ, Oklahoma State University Kappa Kappa Psi History, Part 2: The War Years

In our last article, we examined the Fraternity’s history from its founding through the changes encountered through the outbreak of World War II. As we continue this look at the history of Kappa Kappa Psi, we will next focus in on what we call the War Years, which covers the period of 1939 through the recovery of the Fraternity through 1949. This time period constituted the first great changes in the organization which put it on the path to becoming the Fraternity we recognize today. As opposed to describing events in a linear fashion, this article will present events by subject, as all of these occurred in the same time frame. This article will cover events up to the 1947 National Convention.

National Headquarters

At the 1939 National Convention in Cincinnati, OH, A. Frank Martin was elected to the post of National Executive Secretary. This position had been established in 1925 to provide a professional office responsible for the day-to-day operation of Kappa Kappa Psi. Martin was the third member to hold this post, after Scott Squyres and Herman Ziemer. From 1925 to 1939, the National Headquarters was located in Oklahoma City, typically in the business office of Scott Squyres. In 1939, it relocated to the home of A. Frank Martin in Stillwater, OK. During the summer of 1940, space was granted to Kappa Kappa Psi on the third floor of the music building at Oklahoma A&M College. Martin maintained an office there, and the Alpha chapter used the space for meetings and Ritual performances. Known as both Headquarters and the Shrine Room, the room featured a linoleum floor set with the floor design for the Ritual.

Organizational Changes The 1941 National Convention in Corvallis, OR brought a number of sweeping changes to the young Fraternity. First, a complete replacement of the 1st Degree of the Ritual was approved, becoming the first significant change to the Ritual since it was first performed in 1920. The composition of the Fraternity leadership also saw significant change. At this convention, Kappa Kappa Psi approved the creation of, and elected, its first Board of Trustees. Bohumil Makovsky was elected to serve as the first Chairman. The Grand Council was also reorganized; the offices of Grand Secretary and Grand Treasurer were combined into a single office and various official duties were reassigned, including moving expansion oversight from the Grand 2nd Vice President to the Grand 1st Vice-President. The change in leadership structure and dynamics implied a period of stability and progress to come. However, the events of December 7, 1941 changed collegiate enrollment and had lasting effects on college bands and the Fraternity. With the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the subsequent entry of the United States into World War II, men of all ages rushed to join the armed forces. This caused enrollment declines at colleges and universities across the country that directly affected college band participation, as well as the Fraternity. During the 1939-40 academic year, Kappa Kappa Psi had 658 active members; by the 1943-44 school year, membership had dwindled to 59 members. Only the Alpha, Alpha Beta, Alpha Iota, and Alpha Omicron chapters remained active throughout the war.

War Furloughs

Alpha Theta War Furlough

As World War II continued and active membership in the Fraternity dwindled, chapters began to find themselves in the situation of not having enough members to operate on their campus. In response, the Grand Council created what was called a War Furlough. Chapters petitioned National Headquarters for a furlough and, if approved, were allowed to

seal their records and deposit all chapter records and materials for safekeeping until such time as enough brothers returned to campus to resume normal operations. The intent of the furlough was to allow chapters to immediately resume operations after the war rather than being considered an inactive chapter. Applications required approval of both the band director (or a faculty member who was a member of the Fraternity) and the president of the chapter’s college or university. It is unknown today how many chapters applied for a furlough, as records are incomplete; two that are known to have received a furlough are the Alpha Theta chapter at the University of Northern Colorado and the Alpha Xi chapter at Stetson University.

National Program

National Program of Kappa Kappa Psi - April 1942

In 1939, a policy adopted by the Fraternity stipulated that the organization would study about a different charter member every year. The education under this policy started with William A. Scroggs in 1939 and Boh Makovsky in 1940. With his election to the reinterpreted office of Grand 2nd Vice President in 1941, Max Mitchell began his tenure on the Grand Council by expanding this policy to become the basis of his “National Program.” This program served as our first national membership education program and focused largely on band and fraternity history. Mitchell was also an early advocate for the importance of service as an aspect of fraternal membership and included that in his program. The program was distributed to chapters from 1941-1943, at which time it was deemed unnecessary to continue due to the declining number of chapters and active members caused by the war. Nine issues of Mitchell’s program issued between November 1941 and March 1943 are housed in the Fraternity’s archive.

Tau Beta Sigma In 1937, the band at Texas Technological College (now Texas Tech University) experienced two major events: the admission of women and the chartering of the Alpha Omicron chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi. Over time, Alpha Omicron’s work inspired three of the women in the band to seek a similar opportunity, and during the 1939- 40 school year, an organization called Tau Beta Sigma was created. By 1941, Tau Beta Sigma had established its place at Texas Tech and wanted to expand to other schools, which led the group to contact A. Frank Martin to discuss expansion and nationalization, as the war effort had led to gender integration in many college bands across the country. Eventually, their discussions led to a proposal to establish Tau Beta Sigma nationally as an auxiliary organization of Kappa Kappa Psi.

However, internal discussion within the Grand Council regarding Tau Beta Sigma was tense. The auxiliary proposal sent to the still-active chapters of Kappa Kappa Psi in 1943 found approval, but a stipulation made by William A. Scroggs to gain his vote was not met, leading to a reopening of discussion within the Grand Council and eventual referral of the matter to the Board of Trustees, its first major action for the Fraternity. These setbacks, and the eventual decision of the Board to delay the matter until after the conclusion of World War II, caused the women of Tau Beta Sigma to explore incorporation as a separate organization, which ultimately was successful. Texas Tech band director D.O. Wiley suggested to A. Frank Martin that the group incorporate in Oklahoma, which was accepted. The national organization of Tau Beta Sigma was incorporated on March 26, 1946, and was accepted as a sister organization of Kappa Kappa Psi, sharing the National Headquarters, national publication, and other resources, at the 1947 National Convention.

(For more in-depth information regarding the founding of Tau Beta Sigma, you may order a copy of From a Local Group to a National Sorority: 1939-1947 from www.tbsigma.org.)

Race in Fraternity Membership

In Fall 1946, the Nu Chapter at the University of Michigan chose two AfricanAmerican bandsmen as prospective initiates: L. Allen Pyke and Marshall M. Penn. At that time, the National Constitution restricted membership to men of the Caucasian race, so the Nu chapter submitted a proposal to A. Frank Martin to remove the race restriction, stating that “it is noted by this group that no other national honorary fraternity limits its membership according to race, color, or creed. By restricting membership to the Caucasian race, this fraternity is not in accord with one of the basic principles of democracy.” Having just passed through a heated issue that was contested on procedural grounds, Martin brought the issue to the Grand Council, who all agreed that changing the constitution was the right thing to do. However, that meant waiting until the next biennial convention. Martin informed the Nu chapter of these details and encouraged them to submit an amendment to be considered at the next convention. A similar request was

University of Michigan trombones (circa 1940s)

made of the Alpha Theta chapter at the University of Northern Colorado, who had also expressed interest in initiating an African-American member of their band. By 1947, a third chapter had become involved in the discussion. At the National Convention in March 1947, the Alpha Iota chapter at the University of Colorado submitted a proposal to remove the race restriction based on a directive issued by their campus Ethnic Minorities group and Student Senate. This directive would force honorary fraternities to go inactive on the CU campus if they discriminated due to racial prejudice. The result was a change to the Kappa Kappa Psi National Constitution based on the Alpha Iota proposal that passed on March 8, 1947. On April 24, 1947, the Nu Chapter initiated the first known African-American members of the Fraternity: L. Allen Pyke, Marshall M. Penn, and Penn’s younger brother William.

National Intercollegiate Band

Beginning in 1933, colleges and universities in the Rocky Mountain area participated in an intercollegiate band. Each participating college sent representatives to a selected site for rehearsal, and multiple concerts were given around the region, primarily in Colorado. These concerts were sponsored by the Kappa Kappa Psi chapters at the participating institutions. Within the Fraternity, district intercollegiate band concerts were held in the states of Oklahoma and Ohio.

At the 1941 National Convention 1947 NIB Program

at Corvallis, Oregon, Dr. F. Lee Bowling, then the Grand 1st Vice President of the Fraternity, presented a plan to create such a band on the national level. It received the endorsement of the convention, and plans were made to begin the program at the next National Convention. The National Intercollegiate Band (NIB) debuted March 7, 1947, during the National Convention at Oklahoma A&M College. This first NIB featured 126 student musicians from 17 colleges. The concert opened with John Philip Sousa’s Semper Fidelis and featured Spring 2020

ten different conductors, including Bohumil Makovsky, William A. Scroggs, and Bowling himself.

Though only a short period of the Fraternity’s history, the War Years were one of the most significant. The Fraternity barely survived, and did so largely due to the generosity of the Grand Council, who all gave personal funds to keep the organization alive. But during this struggle, the groundwork was laid for a number of important events and changes implemented at the 1947 National Convention which set the Fraternity on the path on which it continues today. One of the most important events at that convention was the decision made by William A. Scroggs to abdicate his advancement to the office of Grand President. As he had presided over the first National Convention in 1922 in the absence of A. Frank Martin, he chose to let “one more brother” have the opportunity to lead. This resulted in Scroggs being honored by the convention as Honorary Grand President and Max Mitchell being elected to serve as Grand President. Mitchell’s work with the National Program as Grand 2nd Vice President, his views on the organization and what its purpose should be, and his new platform as Grand President led to significant changes in Kappa Kappa Psi – changes we will discuss in our next article.

A correction to our previous article on page 30 of the Fall 2019 issue of the Podium. We inadvertently combined the names of two OAMC publications, The Orange and Black and the Redskin. The publication that announced the completion of Fraternity work was the campus newspaper The Orange and Black.